For Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to cooperate with the United States in the face of opposition from a majority of his population is absolute courage. With so many calls for retaliation and the buildup of military-strike power, will President Bush have the courage to tell a majority of Americans that Osama bin Laden has money to hide anywhere in the world and we will not bomb a country already devastated? Will Bush have the courage to seek the wisdom of historians and religious scholars on the lessons from past wars, the belief systems of Islam and the mind-set of Islamic radicals?

Gary Robb in his letter (April 10) takes on the environmentalists who have been decrying the oil spill, and I certainly agree with him. Those damn people are always so concerned with us having clean air to breathe and clean water to drink. What's wrong with them, anyhow? Better to put our faith in the oil companies. Then we'll all have enough gas for the hearse. BILL IDELSON Pacific Palisades

The Republicans never cease to amaze. The party of special interests, Joe McCarthy and dirty tricks is now accusing the Democrats of special interests, McCarthyism and dirty tricks. When the polls showed the American people 2 to 1 against the confirmation of Bork, the Republicans accused the opposition of bowing to "special interests." Are the people now "special interests" to this Administration? By golly, I think they are. BILL IDELSON Pacific Palisades

In the letters replying to T.E.D. Klein's column (Nov. 25), it was amazing to see people still referring to the Democrats as the "tax and spend" party. Are they completely oblivious to the Reagan deficit, greater than that amassed by all the previous Presidents combined? Can it be that they feel that money spent on the planned destruction of other human beings is not really spending, but that money spent to make people's lives a little easier, is waste? BILL IDELSON Pacific Palisades

Much has been made of the fact that veterans returning from the Vietnam War received less than a hero's welcome. Well, I've got news for you. Vets returning from World War II, our "popular" war, didn't get a hell of a lot of respect either. At least for very long. There was a ticker-tape parade and a few other celebrations, but the gratitude and admiration died down pretty fast. And I'll tell you why: Resentment, bred of guilt, by those who remained safe at home and continued making a nice living while their brothers died in foxholes; gratitude is an emotion that does not sustain for long; people want to forget and get back to business as usual, and a secret but pervasive conviction that those who fight in wars are dumb and gullible.

In reply to James K. Hahn, our esteemed city attorney (letter, June 9), I'd like to point out that the enemies of free speech and the free press are fond of citing "lurid examples" to turn us away from our guaranteed constitutional rights. They say, "Yes, of course, free speech, but this thing goes beyond the bounds of . . ., etc." The problem with this is so many people have their own particular and personal hang-ups, leading to a far-ranging litany of "lurid examples." One man's free speech is another's "lurid example."

Your story on Marilyn Quayle was so heartwarming! The picture of two young, well-bred, beautiful people, late at night, alone in an office in Indiana, brought together by the prospect of sending poor people to death in the electric chair or gas chamber, brought tears to my eyes. I can see them now, poring over the law books, working so hard to fry the disenfranchised, and suddenly so titillated that they fall into an embrace! Is this a movie? BILL IDELSON Pacific Palisades

In reply to James K. Hahn, our esteemed city attorney (letter, June 9), I'd like to point out that the enemies of free speech and the free press are fond of citing "lurid examples" to turn us away from our guaranteed constitutional rights. They say, "Yes, of course, free speech, but this thing goes beyond the bounds of . . ., etc." The problem with this is so many people have their own particular and personal hang-ups, leading to a far-ranging litany of "lurid examples." One man's free speech is another's "lurid example."

Gary Robb in his letter (April 10) takes on the environmentalists who have been decrying the oil spill, and I certainly agree with him. Those damn people are always so concerned with us having clean air to breathe and clean water to drink. What's wrong with them, anyhow? Better to put our faith in the oil companies. Then we'll all have enough gas for the hearse. BILL IDELSON Pacific Palisades

In the letters replying to T.E.D. Klein's column (Nov. 25), it was amazing to see people still referring to the Democrats as the "tax and spend" party. Are they completely oblivious to the Reagan deficit, greater than that amassed by all the previous Presidents combined? Can it be that they feel that money spent on the planned destruction of other human beings is not really spending, but that money spent to make people's lives a little easier, is waste? BILL IDELSON Pacific Palisades